Equipment, such as network nodes, in communications networks may be subject to periodic faults that interfere with the operation of the equipment. These faults may be permanent faults with the equipment that require that the equipment be repaired and/or replaced. Other faults may be associated with transient conditions in the network and may not be reflective of a defect in the equipment. In either case, the equipment is typically replaced and sent for repair when it reports a fault condition. However, if the fault condition is transient, such replacement may be unnecessary and result in wasted time and resources.